HOME TOUR

What I’ve come to love about New England is the rhythm by which the seasons bloom. The flowers follow a relatively consistent schedule that I look forward to immensely. That first blush of daffodils blooming delight after a long winter. They welcome the tulips which cheer on the Lily of the Valley and Lilacs. And then the peonies bloom and it stops everyone in their tracks.

Over this last Mother’s Day weekend, I had 25 beautiful spring bouquets, small and large I was able to set out and I can’t wait to have more available to purchase over the coming months. As we walk through May we get to look forward to one of my favorite seasons–Peony season. I’ve joined some sweet friends on this Peony blog hop and you can see all the marvelous things you can do with Peonies.

PEONIES BLOOMING

I walked through my garden with the kiddos and we counted the number of buds on over 15 peony plants. For many of these precious bushes, this is really the first time I’ve seen significant budding. It has been two years since we had our backyard landscaped so the peonies that were moved have gotten reestablished and are finally happy in their permanent homes.

If there is one thing to learn about Peonies is that they rarely bloom their first year planted. This bush above is two years old. We had 4 blooms last year and it’s finally filled with abundant blooms. It often takes three years and I have seen that first hand. I have one very special peony bush that came as root stock. I got it from a specialty grower and it was very expensive. This is year 3 and it has a single, solitary bloom that I’m watching eagerly.

THE ANTS ARE GOOD

For the kids, Peony bushes are remarkable to analyze because they vividly highlight the mutual relationship that exists between ants and the flower buds. The ants gets to drink nectar droplets that form on the buds and the peonies are protected from aphids, thrips and other non-beneficial insects. Every one of my plants are covered in ants.

PLANT SUPPORTS

I had intended on making some pretty plant supports for this blog hop but between sick kiddos and Mother’s Day, didn’t get to it. Right now I have my peonies supported with the standard metal grid supports. But I found this beautiful willow one that I am planning on purchasing, at least for the very visible bushes in my cottage garden.

But with so many peony plants, it certainly isn’t cost effective for all. It did inspire me to think beyond the realm of metal stakes though and see what I could make. So stay tuned for that fun garden project and make sure to visit my friends below!